Morgan Stanley’s Chinese Land Scandal [NYTimes] “Last month, with property prices here and elsewhere in free fall, the bank dropped a bombshell: in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, it said it had fired an executive in its China real estate division after uncovering evidence that he might have violated the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars American business people from bribing foreign officials.”

Premier Wen urges journalists to write “true, accurate” stories [Xinhua] “Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday urged journalists to write ‘true and accurate’ news stories because it is a fundamental principle and a lifeline for the media. Wen told a group of Xinhua News Agency staff that Xinhua should take the lead in doing so and carry on its tradition of reporting news accurately, effectively and timely.”

China’s Online Shopping in 2008 Leaps 128.5% [TRENDSnIFF] “China’s online shopping market is thriving as sales surged 128.5% in 2008 to 120 billion yuan (US$17.56 billion), which was 65 times that of the sales volume in 2003, according to a report jointly released by iResearch and the largest Chinese C2C platform Taobao.com. That meant every Chinese spent more than 1,600 yuan last year on online purchases, 582 yuan more than the previous year.”

China hits back with report on US human rights record [Shanghai Daily] “CHINA yesterday hit back at a United States report on its human rights with its own report on the US human rights record. “The US practice of throwing stones at others while living in a glass house is a testimony to the double standards and hypocrisy of the United States in dealing with human rights issues and has undermined its international image,” the Information Office of the State Council said in its report on the US human rights record.”

Some skeptical of China’s new food safety law [USA Today] “Following recent tainted milk and pet food scandals that damaged the “Made in China” brand worldwide, some Chinese experts and consumers are worried that the country’s first food safety law may not be enough to prevent a repeat.”